The City Girls Visit The Farms

*buzz* Hey Bianca, we’re coming up in the morning to visit the farms. Meet us at the farmers market.

Saturday was the Whatcom County farm tour, and it was so much fun! As the text message invited, we started at the Bellingham Farmers Market. My friend Eileen has discovered the most amazing baker, so we stocked up on sweets. Then, Bee and I went missing. Really we went taking photos of vegetables, but Eileen called to see where we were. The vegetable colors were so amazing.

Fran the volunteer who gave us maps for the farm tour

Myshan Dairy

Next stop was the dairy. As we arrived, Bee told me a secret: Eileen’s goal for the day was to pet a calf. Yep, it happened. Alas, my only usable photo is of her fan-girling a calf. We did go on the horse and cart ride though. And being the marketer that I am, I was impressed by the Got Milk? stickers. It’s still an amazing campaign. Actually, the promotions were impressive at all of the farms. We discovered farming has changed and many are going direct to consumer, building websites and engaging well on social media. Myshan Dairy was where I proved myself to be the city kid, who happens to live in the country. I didn’t think and wore ballet flats to tiptoe through the mud to the milking sheds. Oops. But, hey, cute cows.

Next stop was another farmers market. Well, with a little auto shop visit on the side but nothing serious. I don’t know the name of the person who referred us to the extremely helpful auto shop but thank you to them. Also, thank you to Cherry Hill Nursery for letting us take photos. And I adore Front Street in Lynden, so it was fun introducing Eileen and Bee to its cuteness and the amazing cream puffs and cakes. I didn’t even ask them to visit the bookstore. Swoon, Village Books.

The tomatoes were bigger than Bee’s fist.

Filling the cooler with yummies.

OK, not on the farm tour. We took a detour to one of my favorite spots.

So many dahlias! The sign said they have 8,000 plants this season. we weren’t counting to confirm but we did walk among row after row of pretty flowers. We chatted with one of the farmers who told us how they use the stems to feed the most adorable pigs, and some go to the chickens. They rotate the animals and plants around making a closed loop feed and soil management process.

Our final stop on our visit to the farms. It’s an apple orchard, but we got there as they were closing. the only photo is this legally mandated sign that my public relations trained brain struggles with. Language needn’t be that complex and convoluted.

Thanks to Bee and Eileen for the amazing idea and for the farms for hosting such a fun and educational day.